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Effects of 2.45 GHz Wi‐Fi exposure on sleep‐dependent memory consolidation
Author(s) -
BuenoLopez Ana,
Eggert Torsten,
Dorn Hans,
Schmid Gernot,
Hirtl Rene,
DankerHopfe Heidi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of sleep research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.297
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2869
pISSN - 0962-1105
DOI - 10.1111/jsr.13224
Subject(s) - audiology , memory consolidation , crossover study , sleep (system call) , declarative memory , psychology , consolidation (business) , medicine , cognition , neuroscience , computer science , alternative medicine , accounting , pathology , hippocampus , business , placebo , operating system
Studies have reported that exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF‐EMF) emitted by mobile telephony might affect specific sleep features. Possible effects of RF‐EMF emitted by Wi‐Fi networks on sleep‐dependent memory consolidation processes have not been investigated so far. The present study explored the impact of an all‐night Wi‐Fi (2.45 GHz) exposure on sleep‐dependent memory consolidation and its associated physiological correlates. Thirty young males (mean ± standard deviation [ SD ]: 24.1 ± 2.9 years) participated in this double‐blind, randomized, sham‐controlled crossover study. Participants spent five nights in the laboratory. The first night was an adaptation/screening night. The second and fourth nights were baseline nights, each followed consecutively by an experimental night with either Wi‐Fi (maximum: psSAR10g = <25 mW/kg; 6 min average: <6.4 mW/kg) or sham exposure. Declarative, emotional and procedural memory performances were measured using a word pair, a sequential finger tapping and a face recognition task, respectively. Furthermore, learning‐associated brain activity parameters (power spectra for slow oscillations and in the spindle frequency range) were analysed. Although emotional and procedural memory were not affected by RF‐EMF exposure, overnight improvement in the declarative task was significantly better in the Wi‐Fi condition. However, none of the post‐learning sleep‐specific parameters was affected by exposure. Thus, the significant effect of Wi‐Fi exposure on declarative memory observed at the behavioural level was not supported by results at the physiological level. Due to these inconsistencies, this result could also be a random finding.